California Conservation Corps crews herd cattle, build trails in Sonoma County preserves

When Thomas Stevensen signed up with the California Conservation Corps 28 months ago, the 26-year-old Oakland native was ready to face new physical and mental challenges, build a career and take better care of his family, including two children and a third on the way. He has since worked 16-hour days fighting forest fires, blazing trails and lugging logs into streams to create fish habitat.

But nothing could prepare him for a recent face-off with an errant calf that had split from a herd he and a half dozen fellow corps members were attempting to move on a Santa Rosa nature preserve.

“I never had an experience like that where I came from,” Stevenson said. “It turned out to be a pretty fun day.”

His can-do attitude is common among the 80 fresh-faced California Conservation Corps members stationed just outside of Ukiah and the 120,000 who have worked with the corps since its inception in 1976.

“They like being dirty. They like being outside,” said Rachel Siska, director of the Ukiah center.

Those qualities make them favorite resources for the people who manage of nature preserves and public park lands.

“They basically work all day, sleep, get up, work all day. It was impressive,” said Jeanne Wirka, director of stewardship for Audubon Canyon Ranch, who recently hired them for a 20-day trail-building project at Bouverie Preserve, a 535-acre parcel near Glen Ellen.

Corps members typically sign up for year-long stints during which they learn how to wield chainsaws and shovels, drive commercial trucks and fight fires. Those who haven’t finished high school can earn diplomas at the on-campus charter school, and those interested in further education or a career in the culinary arts have access to a scholarship program.

The center is one of seven residential campuses in California. Another 13 sites are nonresidential, including a Napa satellite station with 60 corps members.

Modeled after the 1930s Civilian Conservation Corps, the California Conservation Corps was established by Gov. Jerry Brown, who envisioned it as a “combination Jesuit seminary, Israeli kibbutz and Marine Corps boot camp.” In addition to protecting and enhancing natural resources, its members are called upon to help with flood, fire, earthquake and environmental emergencies.

The corps has a dual mission: conserving the state’s natural resources and providing work and educational opportunities for young men and women, said spokeswoman Susan Levitsky.

Since its inception, its members have done more than 67 million hours of conservation work throughout the state, including planting more than 21 million trees, building or repairing 11,000 miles of trails and restoring or enhancing 1,800 miles of streams.

The corps’ $95 million annual budget is dependent on paid contracts with other agencies, but corps members - who earn minimum wage on paid jobs - also are required to volunteer 10 hours a week in addition to their average 40-hour work week.

The cow wrangling fell into the volunteer category.

Stevenson and his group had volunteered to plant trees at the 3,120-acare Pepperwood Preserve in Santa Rosa, but instead were asked to move 30 Angus cows from one paster to a new location, said Michael Gillogly, the preserve’s manager.

“I looked at my crew. We all agreed it sounded like something fun to do,” said Travis Them, 25, of Martinez who, like Stevenson, hopes to translate his new skills into a firefighting career.

The job included running up and down hills for about three hours to move the cows one mile, Gillogly said.

It was hot, tiring work but also a good time, Them said. Added Siska, it also was a very unusual event for the crew, one unlikely to be repeated.

More commonly, the corps works on clearing brush for fire suppression, sometimes on fire lines. They also create or rehabilitate trails and do wildlife habitat restoration projects.

Some of the more intensive, paid projects require corps workers to camp on site, such as the trail-building project at Bouverie Preserve. Landslides and last year’s Napa earthquake had damaged the upper portion of the main trail to Bouverie’s popular 80-foot waterfall.

“It was a mess. We had to close it,” said Wirka.

The work on the damaged section - about a third of a mile - included rerouting the trail through a rock outcropping.

“They were basically cutting into the bank, but it was a giant slab of rock so they had to use a jackhammer,” Wirka said. The job also required electric saws, for which the team needed to haul up a generator. The teams worked eight- to 10-hour days to get the job done, and overnighted in camp tents pitched on the preserve.

And they enjoyed it.

“I like getting it done,” said Francis Rocanella, 22, of Brooklyn. “I like feeling accomplished at the end of the day, that’s the best part of it.” He is working on certification to operate commercial vehicles and chainsaws. After fulfilling his current contract, he plans to move on to the corps’ “Backcountry Trails” program, where teams spend months at a time in remote areas building trails.

All corps programs require that members have a proven work ethic and maturity. The rest they can learn on the job, Siska said.

The corps teams - each roughly 15 strong - are highly sought after by the local, state and federal agencies that hire them because of their willingness to tackle hard jobs and because they are trained and come with an experienced team leader, some of whom rose from the corps ranks, Siska said.

“We’re pretty much booked six months in advance right now,” she said. Corps members will spend most of the summer working in creeks to restore salmon habitat, doing tasks such as installing natural wood debris.

“I would absolutely hire them again. It’s just mind boggling how much work gets done in a day,” Wirka said.

You can reach Staff Writer Glenda Anderson at 462-6473 or glenda.anderson@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @MendoReporter.